Homemade Chocolate Pudding
My friend, Emily, brought me some of this delicious Homemade Chocolate Pudding after I had my last baby. She brought us dinner and this pudding was supposed to be for dessert.
I snuck one spoonful before dinner and immediately hid it in the back of the fridge. I didn’t even share one bite with my husband or kids. Yep, it’s that good.
After tasting it, I knew I had to have the recipe and messaged her on Facebook to beg for it. She said it was a Betty Crocker recipe for vanilla pudding. She doubled it and did the chocolate variation along with making a few slight changes. I made sure to ask her which brand of cocoa she had used because with cocoa the brand can really make a difference in flavor.
She used Hershey’s regular cocoa.
I have since made this pudding for my family and they love it. We differ in opinions of whether it should be eaten warm or cold. I think it tastes amazing cold but the rest of my family likes it warm. You’ll have to test it both ways and let me know which team you’re on.
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅔ cup cocoa (recommend Hershey Brand)
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt + a dash
- 2 cups of milk*
- 2 cups half and half (*or use 3 cups milk and 1 cup whipping cream)
- 4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 1½ tsp vanilla
- Crack eggs into a medium-sized mixing bowl, slightly beat, and set aside, near where you will be working at the stove.
- In a 2-quart saucepan mix together: sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in the milk/half and half or cream, and heat mixture on medium heat stirring constantly.
- When mixture begins to thicken and boil. Boil for 1 min.
- Pour half of the pudding mixture (slowly) into the slightly beaten eggs. Whisk constantly and also keep stirring the pudding left in the saucepan...you might want a helper for this. Also, don't return the saucepan back to the heat until you have added the egg yolk pudding mixture back to the half left in the saucepan.
- Once the egg yolk pudding mixture has been combined well and is thickening, quickly add it back into the remaining pudding in the saucepan.
- Boil and constantly stir pudding for one more minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
- Pour into serving dishes and chill for at least one hour...or eat it warm if you prefer.
Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker Vanilla Pudding
The other awesome thing about this recipe is that it is gluten free. So, if you have someone in your life who requires a gluten free diet, you can make their day by making them this delicious pudding!
But gluten free or not, I don’t think their’s a person on the planet whose day wouldn’t look a bit better with a bowl of this pudding somewhere in it.
Keep it Real!!!
Maria
Love pudding? Try this Homemade Tapioca Pudding.
kim p
There is just no going back once you make homemade pudding!
Maria
Amen Sister!
Emily b
So if I want to substitute with non-dairy milk, does it have to be really fatty milk or high in protein to work? I know regular pudding mixes require a higher protein milk than most non-dairy milks for example.
Maria
It will work to a degree because of the cornstarch and egg yolks, but it will not be as creamy or thick. I bet it will still taste awesome though. You could consider adding an extra tablespoon of cornstarch. Coconut milk would probably work the best.
Emily b
The coconut milk worked great! I don’t think I needed the extra cornstarch because it is much thicker than your picture. So yummy!
Maria
Awesome! I bet it is delicious! I am going to try coconut milk next time I make it!
Nichole
Who knew pudding could be so good? I don’t think I will ever be able to eat non-homemade pudding again! I had milk I was trying to use up so I just used 4 cups of that and no half and half or cream. It turned out great!
Maria
Right! Once you’ve had homemade there’s no going back.